BBC News Online: Despatches

Czech Prime Minister resigns

The Czech Republic has woken up to the news that its Prime Minister, Vaclav Klaus, is handing in his resignation, a step he announced at a tense press conference in the early hours of this morning. Mr Klaus was the longest-serving head of government in Europe except for Germany's Helmut Kohl. As Ray Furlong reports from Prague, his departure of is something of a lesson in democracy for Czechs:

In a tell-tale sign that something extraordinary had happened during the night, newspapers were being sold at Prague metro stations this morning.

Czech newspapers do not usually come out on Sundays, but for the resignation of Mr Klaus they put special editions together, and speculation is rife ahead of today's meeting of the leaders of the three former coalition parties with the President, Vaclav Havel, at which the creation of the next government will be discussed.

It is far from clear who will lead it, and it may be that many leading politicians see the post as something of a poisoned chalice at the moment. In any case, Mr Klaus has said clearly that he will not be in the future government and his career now seems well and truly finished.

Though Mr Klaus' popularity has diminished in recent years, Czechs have got used to having him around. He's been at the forefront of Czech politics since the bloodless revolution of 1989, and was appointed finance minister in the first post-communist cabinet, before becoming head of the government in 1992.

As his imminent departure drew a large and vocal crowd of supporters on to the streets last night, President Havel almost seemed to anticipate such strong emotions when he made his statements calling on Mr Klaus' government to step down.

"We must get used to the fact", he said, "that in democracy governments and politicians come and go."

As the only country in the former Soviet bloc where the opposition has not won an election since the fall of communism, this is a lesson the Czechs are learning a little bit later than their neighbours.

Summaries

In this section

Winnie Mandela truth hearings adjourned
Nigeria marks World Aids Day
Move to boost Aids awareness in China
Albanians in Italy on hunger strike
Polish survivors sceptical about London conference
Zimbabwe minister on land grab plans
Striking Kenyan nurses face dismissal
Japan climate change conference
Sirens sound in Kuwait
Pakistan's constitutional stand-off
Israeli cabinet approves further withdrawal
St Francis of Assisi basilica reopens
Australia PM wants support for Aborigine law